Food Safety and Personal Hygiene
Hands and illness
Handwashing is the highest-yield topic. Wash hands before handling food, after the toilet, after handling raw meat or eggs, after bins, after touching hair or face, after cleaning, and after breaks. Traps: hand sanitiser is not a substitute for soap and water; gloves are not a substitute for handwashing and must be changed between tasks.
Fitness to work
Staff must report diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, infected skin lesions, discharge from ears/eyes/nose, and any illness that could be food-borne. Anyone with vomiting or diarrhoea must be excluded and must not return until 48 hours symptom-free. Cuts must be covered with a blue waterproof dressing plus, on hands, a glove. Question writers love the 48-hour figure - do not confuse it with '24 hours after symptoms start'.
Clothing and behaviour
Clean, washable overclothing, hair tied back and covered where required, no jewellery except a plain wedding band, no strong perfume, no eating, drinking, smoking or chewing gum in food areas. Report wounds; never touch food with bare hands where a tool will do.
Worked example
A chef has a stomach upset on Friday and feels well on Saturday. They may not return until 48 hours after the last episode of vomiting or diarrhoea. If they had only a cough or cold they could usually work, away from open food, provided hygiene is maintained.
The trap to expect
Distinguish carriers (no symptoms but shedding pathogens) from people who are visibly ill, and remember that exclusion rules apply to everyone handling food, including volunteers and delivery staff.